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June 2, 2014

May 6, 2009 was a memorable and uplifting day for me. And it
happened in the Ontario legislature.

The Ontario legislature is not usually a place associated
with uplifting memories. More often it’s a place known for acrimonious debate
and other antics.

But on that memorable day, I was sitting in the balcony and
watching the vote for third reading of the Poverty Reduction Act.

As the Poverty Advocate for Mennonite Central Committee
Ontario and an active member of the 25 in 5 Network for Poverty Reduction, I
had taken a keen interest in this legislation.

The Liberal Government had tabled Bill 152, as it was
numbered, earlier in the year. It followed the introduction of Ontario’s first
poverty reduction strategy in 2008. And it echoed poverty reduction legislation
passed in Quebec a few years before.

I spent many hours in community meetings poring over the
draft legislation and crafting recommendations to strengthen it. We met with
members of all three parties to talk about the legislation and proposed
changes.

On that memorable day in May 2009, I watched as poverty
reduction legislation which included many of the recommendations from community
groups and also constructive amendments from the Progressive Conservatives and
New Democratic Party was debated and voted on.
To my amazement, the Poverty Reduction Act was passed unanimously.

You might be sceptical. After all, voting to reduce poverty
is like voting for motherhood and apple pie. Who could be opposed to it?